The invention concerns an artificial endosphincter for the urethra comprising a retaining part and a valve which can be manually actuated by pressure from the outside.
An artificial endosphincter of this type is disclosed e.g. in EP 96 018 05.
Artificial endosphincters are used for incontinency therapy for men after a prostrate resection and for “old incontinent men”. The urethra lies between the two cavernous bodies on the lower side of the penis. The urethra is pressed from below by thumb and index finger against the upward lying, parallel cavernous bodies. The pressure on the urethra also exerts pressure on the manually actuatable valve which should thereby open. Since the urethra is surrounded by the cavernous bodies through approximately 270°, the artificial endosphincter must be positioned such that the valve can be opened by a pressure manually built up from the outside through a relatively narrow angular region of the urethra of approximately 90°.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,312 discloses an artificial endosphincter whose retaining part has two different diameters, wherein a valve body is mounted to that retaining part section having the smaller diameter. The artificial endosphincter has a holding region between the retaining part having a smaller diameter and the retaining part having a larger diameter. The conventional retaining part is introduced, in an insertion configuration, into a hollow organ and is then expanded by the body temperature. The valve body also comprises two sealing lips which enclose a slitted opening. The sealing lips must be disposed parallel to the actuating direction in the urethra and must therefore be properly oriented when the artificial endosphincter is positioned. If this is not possible, the sealing lips may come to rest transversely or perpendicularly to the actuating direction. In this case, finger pressure can no longer open the valve, rather closes it more tightly.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to further develop an artificial endosphincter of the above-mentioned type such that it can be expanded independently of temperature and/or has a valve which can be opened independently of position.